Author Archives: DeWetsWild

About DeWetsWild

Nature and wildlife enthusiast and tour guide, based in Pretoria, South Africa.

What a trip it’s been!

Happy New Year to all our friends here at de Wets Wild! We hope that 2018 has lots of opportunities to explore the outdoors, for you as well as for us!

We have just arrived back home safely after another epic summer holiday in South Africa’s wild places. All in all we were away from home for 24 nights and traveled a total of 5,550km, exploring eight of this beautiful country’s National Parks.

The route for our epic December 2017 holidays

Of course we came back with literally thousands of photos, which we’ll be sharing here in the coming weeks. We tried to post a daily update as we went along – here’s a quick recap.

Wide open spaces surround the Karoo National Park’s accommodation units

Camping in Karoo National Park, December 2017

Wide open spaces in the Karoo

Gemsbok in the Karoo

Eland Cottage, Table Mountain NP, December 2017

8 Years old: December 2017. Sunset over the Atlantic

De Wets at the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

African Penguin at Boulders Beach

Chalet 11 at Agulhas National Park, December 2017

Southern Tip of Africa

Bontebok

Campsite 8, Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest Camp, Bontebok National Park, December 2017

Lang Elsies Kraal

View from Ebb-and-Flow North Campsite

Camping at Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp in the Garden Route National Park, December 2017

Diepwalle Forest, Garden Route National Park

Swartvlei Beach

Serpentine River

Rondevlei in Garden Route National Park, seen from the hide

Ebb-and-Flow North Camp seen from the Half-collared Kingfisher Trail

Rowing on the Touw River at Ebb-and-Flow

Storms River Mouth scenery

Camping site 50i at Storms River Mouth Camp in Garden Route National Park, December 2017

Deadly battle between a Southern Boubou and a Boomslang

Tsitsikamma Sunset

Camping at Addo Elephant National Park, December 2017

Big and small at Addo

Baby Elephant Naptime at Addo

Seymore Butts

Camping at Mountain Zebra National Park, December 2017

The Star Attraction at Mountain Zebra National Park

Ostriches mating at Mountain Zebra National Park

Caracal at Mountain Zebra National Park

Camping at Camdeboo National Park, December 2017

Camdeboo’s Valley of Desolation

Our 2017 in pictures

11 Replies

Looking back at the places we stayed at during another year of enjoying South Africa’s beautiful wild places.

Skukuza Bungalow #210, Kruger National Park, March 2017

Mantuma Tent #22, uMkhuze Game Reserve, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, March 2017

Giant’s Castle Chalet #4, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, April 2017

Camping at Satara, Kruger National Park, April 2017

Manzini Chalets #9, St. Lucia Town, July 2017

Cape Vidal Chalet 9, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, July 2017

Mpila #17, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, July 2017

Hilltop #42, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, July 2017

Lower Sabie hut 49, Kruger National Park, August 2017

Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp Tent, August 2017

Camping at Nylsvley Nature reserve, September 2017

Thutong Environmental Education Centre, Marakele National Park, September 2017

Camping in Karoo National Park, December 2017

Eland Cottage, Table Mountain NP, December 2017

Chalet 11 at Agulhas National Park, December 2017

Campsite 8, Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest Camp, Bontebok National Park, December 2017

Camping at Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp in the Garden Route National Park, December 2017

Camping site 50i at Storms River Mouth Camp in Garden Route National Park, December 2017

Camping at Addo Elephant National Park, December 2017

Camping at Mountain Zebra National Park, December 2017

Camping at Camdeboo National Park, December 2017

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site. After voting, you’ll receive an e-mail requiring you to click on a link to confirm your votes.

Thank you very much for your support!

Feeling Tiny

4 Replies

This is just a tiny window into the Valley of Desolation, the showpiece of the Camdeboo National Park, which is where we will be visiting for the next two days.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

Care for a Caracal?

23 Replies

This morning here at Mountain Zebra National Park we had the amazing privilege of seeing one of South Africa’s most elusive creatures, the Caracal, out on the hunt.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

Ostrich Love in the Mountains

4 Replies

This morning we were treated to the spectacle of ostrich courtship and mating here at Mountain Zebra National Park.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

We’re at Mountain Zebra National Park now

4 Replies

Evening on the 27th of December 2017 finds us at Mountain Zebra National Park, where the battle to save the Cape Mountain Zebra from the brink of extinction was fought and won.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

Seymore Butts

10 Replies

How many ellie bums can you fit in one picture? 😀

We had the pleasure of following this wide load on our drive through Addo Elephant National Park this morning.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

Christmas Cuties

22 Replies

Wishing all of our friends here at de Wets Wild a blessed Christmas from Addo Elephant National Park!

Today’s sequence shows two baby elephants sharing a Christmas morning nap. The smallest of the two really struggled to get back up when it was time to start moving with the herd again. Certainly one of the cutest things we’ve ever seen in South Africa’s wild places!

Baby Elephant Naptime at Addo

—-

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

In the land of the giants

4 Replies

We’ve arrived at the Addo Elephant National Park, where there is space for big and small to live side by side…

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!

What a way to end a day…

12 Replies

A glorious sunset to end our visit to the spectacular Storms River Mouth.

Early tomorrow morning we’ll be heading off to the next destination on our summer itinerary.

—–

If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2017 South African Blog Awards.

Thank you very much for your support!